Women's Rugby World Cup: Welsh father-daughter cherish their team's epic win

Kai Neumann and daughter Jana are ecstatic their team edged Scotland in the dying stages of their match in Whangārei. Photo / Michael Cunningham

It was a heart-stopping moment for Welsh father and daughter Kai and Jana Neumann when Scotland levelled the scores and lined up a kick to win an epic match between two traditional rivals.

With tension at its peak in the dying stages, and although the conversion was missed, a draw at the Northland Events Centre on Sunday evening would not have been accepted by the fans of either team.

It came down to which team conceded a penalty at the wrong end of the field, and Scotland did.

Keira Bevin stepped up and kicked the match-winning penalty five minutes after the full-time siren, sending Welsh players and fans into a frenzy while Scotland were left to reflect on an opportunity that just got away in the Women's Rugby World Cup.

The Neumanns hail from Pembrookshire, southwest of Wales, and flew nearly 19,000 kilometres not just to see their beloved women's team in action but to also to watch their own, wing Lisa Neumann play in her first RWC.

Kai Neumann said her daughter Lisa, 28, was a bit of a late bloomer and delved into other sports before taking up rugby in 2017.

"She played in a rugby sevens tournament and the Wales 15s coach told her she must go to a bigger club so she joined Scarlett and was picked for the Wales national team in 2017.

"She's not always glamorous in games but in defence, she tackles everybody, she reads the game well and for every try that Wales scores, there's a Lisa tackle in the background," Kai Neumann said.

Wales' wing Lisa Neumann's dad and sister were in the stands at the Northland Events Centre when her team took on Scotland. Photo / Getty Images

Jana said her sister was one of those people who was humble and has worked incredibly hard to get to this point in rugby and the whole family was proud of her achievement.

The father and daughter arrived in Whangārei on Sunday morning and left for Auckland yesterday to watch Wales take on the Black Ferns in Waitakere this weekend.

But the duo will be back in Whangārei next week for their team's last pool match against Australia.

On the win against Scotland, she said: "Credit to the girls, they stuck together. For Lisa, it was extra hard because when a player was yellow-carded, they had to take her off in order to bring a forward.

"You could see the emotion and a sense of relief on all the players and their families in the stands who were crying with joy."

Kai said even though they spent just one night in Whangārei, they loved the "tranquillity" of the place and the mountains, land and laid-back and friendly people.

"It's home away from home. I could live here. It's very pleasant."

Scotland is the only team competing in RWC2021 that will play all its pool games in Whangārei. Their second match is against Australia this Saturday and the Black Ferns next weekend.